The Uphill Climb
by Catachresis
Summary: We’ve all seen and had one Pokémon, the latest version of tomogachi. When pokémon battle, grow and live what goes through their heads? What do they think of us, of other pokémon? A take on Pokémon game concepts and a series of stories on the sacrifices ma
1. SUDOWOODO: Father of Champions

* * *

I used to think I was normal, nothing special. I never thought I was rare or especially strong for that matter. I wasn't trained especially for the art of battle, fieldwork, or reconnaissance. I was simply run of the mill, or at least, I thought I was. 

I had no idea how valuable I really was, until it was too late. I was a gold mine, a way to reach ultimate potential. I was a weapon, but I had never fought a battle of my own. I never knew my true meaning, until I was told the hard way.

I hated who I was, who I had become, but if this was my destiny I had to face it, no matter how hard it was for me to swallow.

This is my story. My name is Sudowoodo. I am a pokémon.

I'm a rock type, a pure rock type, though I don't appear the part. I actually look the part of a grass pokémon, and I appear tree-like, kind of like the stem of a Bellsprout taffy stretched.

As I've said before, I never considered myself rare. Turns out I was a one-of-a kind pokémon who only appears once to a trainer, a breed so rare they appear to trainers only once in a lifetime. Of course, there was no way I could know that. I wasn't the original one my trainer caught. I was hatched from an egg. I also had a twin brother.

I don't remember much about being in my egg, only that I was lugged everywhere. I'd never seen the real world, nor had I ever seen any other pokémon other than myself. I remember in my late stages I was capable of making noises from inside my shell. I remember lots of sounds coming back whenever I did that, which is why I made sounds often. After a while I was able to hear through the eggshell. What I heard were battles, many battles. I wasn't born yet, so I had no idea what was going on. What I knew was I wanted to join the fun, whatever it was. I didn't want to be alone anymore.

I eventually hatched. I remember arms enclosing around me, cradling me while I cried. I also remember not feeling any fur, metal or wood on those arms. I longed for my mother, but this was as close as I had gotten to one. When I opened my eyes I saw a human girl holding me close, shading me from sunlight yet filling me with her body warmth. I will never forget that moment. She made the same sounds for me as I had done to her, only now we were face to face. She loved me, and so did I. I do remember some other fuzzy shapes around her I assume were her other pokémon, but they stayed fuzzy to me. I didn't bother to focus in on them. I was holding the image of that girl in my mind, capturing every line of her face and hair. Her laugh, her smile; all I was trying to save. All I saw was her, and that was all I needed for my world to be complete.

That moment didn't last long. After enough bonding was established I was introduced to my pokéball.

I hated it. I wanted to be with my mother again, to be safe in her arms. But instead I was introduced to a metal version of my egg. It didn't have the security of my egg. In my egg I was warm and the walls were thin, but here everything was cold and contained. I cried out for my mother, but she didn't answer me like she did when I was in my egg. It was the walls. They were thicker; soundproof. I was alone again.

It stayed that way for a long time. I trusted her instantly, and she'd put me in here. I didn't want to accept that, but it was shoved down my throat as well. She'd put me in this weird place, a PC or something. I don't know what PC stood for; my guess was Pokémon Container. There I stayed for days, months…and I waited for her. Had she left me? Had she lost me?

Then she came back. In the same 'box' as me was my brother, another egg hatched from my parents. She would stat check us while we were in the pokéballs.

She kept me, and finally took me out of that PC. Then she released my brother, because I was the stronger one. That was the first cold act I had ever seen her do.

I was still naïve, even after her new treatment towards me. I had hoped to see battles when I was finally out of my pokéball.

She did take me to a battle. An Elite Four battle.

I knew very little of this 'Elite Four', but from their names they sounded like tough trainers with strong pokémon. I was worried that I would not be able to win, as I had never been in a battle before. More, I worried about disappointing my trainer, who only kept me because I was stronger than my brother. If I showed weakness…she might not want me anymore.

On our way to Indigo Plateau we camped in front of the Pokémon Center for one night, the next day to be the day of the battles. My trainer went into her tent, as she preferred sleeping outdoors rather than in the Pokémon Center. That made her tough in a way. I admired her.

I was tempted to go in after her, lay sleeping in her arms like I had done so long ago. But I could not. She not only seemed like a strong trainer, but actually was one. Her other five pokémon…scared me. There was a Scizor, a Togetic, an extremely rare Raikou, a Furret and a Shuckle. All looked strong and wore the tough masks built from pokémon battles. Not only that, but the group had a unity to it, a unity I disturbed just with my presence.

The Togetic spoke first. "Welcome new member!" Despite its strong appearance, the Togetic had a mild tone, and a friendly greeting. Still, it was my first welcome…

"H-hello."

"Don't be shy new member! What's your nickname?" the Togetic smiled, fluttering its wings as it spoke.

"Sudowoodo."

"Oh, I see…" the Togetic trailed off on a sad note, a shock compared to its previous tone. I had given him the right answer, what was wrong?

"She hasn't given you a nickname, you won't be here long," answered the Raikou in a gruff barking voice.

"What does that mean?" I was almost too afraid to ask.

"She's going to be training you for a while, that's all. But she's not going to keep you, or use you in battle after you've done what she wants of you," explained the Furret in a diplomatic voice, like a rehearsed speech.

She was using me? "What do you still mean by that?"

The Shuckle spun, like a slap shot hockey puck, rolling to a stop at my feet. It poked its yellow head up through its berry colored rock shell sighing. "Allow me to tell you, I've seen it all before. Ya see, we're her usual group, meaning her field pokémon. She carries us with her everywhere she goes; why you may ask? Because we possess the skills she needs to get from town to town and to train her 'battlers', pokémon she uses for battle purposes. For example, I am a field pokémon because I can turn berries into berry juice. I also am a stand-in."

I was too afraid to ask, but the Furret answered for me. "It means Shuckie here goes out whenever one of TAYLOR's battlers faints. Shuckie goes out for one turn, during which turn TAYLOR revives her battler. When Shuckie faints TAYLOR sends out her battler and wins the match, all the experience points to the battler. Just the way she likes it."

Somehow it made sense, logically, but was obviously cruel. Yet Shuckie did not flinch or cringe at the mention of fainting in every battle he was chosen for.

"Raccoon over there knows how to Surf, Cut and Strength, skills needed to go from town to town. Eggy, the Togetic, knows Flash and Fly, two moves also used for the field. And Rainstorm over there knows Dig, TAYLOR uses that whenever she gets lost in caves." The Raikou lifted up a paw of acknowledgement, but did not open his eyes to me.

"We're her field pokémon, we've seen a lot of pokémon like you before. TAYLOR's trained a lot of pokemon. Aside from me, all the other field pokémon are level 100. They aren't used in battle though, unless TAYLOR's in a tight spot."

I nodded, trying to take in all this information about my trainer. She had seemed so kind before, but from Shuckie's words Pokémon training was a science for her. Did she care at all for me? Why was she so nice to me then?

"Oh, and the Scizor's Rocket. He's the battler TAYLOR's currently training." I took one look at the Scizor, shuddering instantly. Rocket was sleek warrior, with a shiny metal casing dented from battles. That and his claws were flexing open and closed, looking like the mouths of two monsters warming up their jaws to gobble me up should I go near. Rocket looked like ninja with a body made to slice.

TAYLOR had trained him well. He would be a fearsome opponent to the Elite Four.

It seemed that all of TAYLOR's pokémon had a title, a job and purpose. I dared to ask. "What am I to TAYLOR?"

Shuckie cast his eyes to the ground, wriggling uncomfortably. "You…are a breeder."

The next day was the battle against the Elite Four. Taking what I had learned from Shuckie I was more cautious to my trainer, but how would I trust her to battle me then?

When we came to the first room, one with a green platform surrounded by ice, the door slammed shut behind us, a rock wall blocking our exit. TAYLOR was so calm, so used to the sound, as were her other pokémon. I hid behind TAYLOR's leg. She didn't seem to mind.

It was then I saw the first Elite Four, a man much older than TAYLOR wearing a red and black mask and outfit. One of his eyes was ghostly white, Gastly ghost white. He spoke for a while, TAYLOR nodding though obviously bored.

Then he cast out his first pokéball releasing an Xatu, a fierce opponent.

I was terrified to fight. Me? Against a pokémon that large, that strong? I'd never _seen _a battle before, let alone been in one. Did TAYLOR have a way for me to win? She knelt down next to me, giving me a stroke on the head. I knew then that Shuckie was wrong; TAYLOR cared for me more than a breeder, whatever that was. TAYLOR put a small bar in my hands, curling my green ball and stem fingers around it.

She then tossed out a pokéball, releasing Rocket.

TAYLOR only uttered one word before Rocket shot off into the fray. "Slash."

It was then I knew I wanted to be a battler. I didn't know what a breeder was but I did not want that title. I wanted to be a battler, oh how I wanted to be one! To watch Rocket fly off, a streak of red cutting the very air itself so it looked like the air in the room was bleeding. Rocket flew right in front of the Xatu, and opened one claw, the mouth of the monster open. With a killing grace Rocket cut right down the Xatu's shoulder blade to its left foot. The Xatu fell before it could even launch at attack, overpowered by Rocket's pure speed. It fell to the ground, Rocket standing over it, the victor.

Pokémon battles…were beautiful. I hoped I could be in one, or at least possess the strength, speed and agility as Rocket.

Then the bar in my hands glowed, the light engulfing my hands and arms.

Then I felt it. Strength…power…experience flowing into me. I felt fatigue though I had not moved; I felt knowledge that had just unlocked from deep within me. I felt stronger, my muscles developing and growing all at the same time.

I was now tired, but invigorated. Adrenaline rushed to me though I had no reason for it. It was like I had been in a battle…

I turned around to see TAYLOR nodding at me, and Shuckie shaking his head.

TAYLOR called me to her side. "You went up a level, only a few more to go." She let me stay by her, lean against her. And I was happy once more.

It was like that for the rest of the match. Rocket would fight, and after every victory I would feel strength rush up to me as if I had been in that same fight. The bar TAYLOR had given me somehow connected me to the battle. And I watched Rocket fight. I wanted to be strong like him someday.

It continued like that for many battles. TAYLOR defeated the Elite Four many times, fighting many battles and defeating the five trainers again and again. Before every match she would give me the bar, and Rocket would fight every match.

The bar, I found out, was EXP Share. And through it I got stronger, and I felt closer to Rocket's strength after each match. I knew that one day my level would be high enough for TAYLOR to send me out into battle. I grasped the bar tightly after each match, waiting for her to call me out to fight.

After every match she would always say. "Just a few more levels…"

One day I got an attack rush, a time of pure intense mind concentration that happened whenever I learned a new attack. TAYLOR plugged the machine she called a Pokédex to me, and began stat checking.

I hate attack rushes. It's like a new idea pops into your brain but you don't have enough room for it. So it just hovers about your brain while you scurry to make room. It's like squeezing another person into a packed elevator. And during attack rushes all I can think about are my attacks: Low kick, Flail, Mimic and Rock Throw, and this new attack that I did not have a name for yet.

TAYLOR smiled at me, and in a clear voice said, "Sudowoodo, forget Rock Throw and learn Rock Slide."

And then the attack rush was over. My new idea had stayed, how to summon the rocks, how to throw them and how to perform the move instantly and perfectly. But yet, I could not find the knowledge about Rock Throw anymore. It was as if with those words TAYLOR had altered what I could and could not remember.

TAYLOR went away from the Elite Four after that, taking me to a Pokémon Center in a town called Goldenrod to get checked. I liked the extra attention she showed me during the days of that trip, though all her other pokémon just shook their heads at me.

I wondered why. I thought they were jealous.

Shuckie, as usual, was the one to tell me. "TAYLOR does what is called 'selective breeding'. It's putting together two specific pokémon to get a specific result. Usually a pokémon with a rare move that they don't normally learn. You see, pokémon can learn moves based on who their parents are and what their parents know."

I wondered if my parents were part of selective breeding…

"You are a breeder, a pokémon TAYLOR trains just because you have the ability to pass a move down to your children. She only trained you to learn a move you would give to your eggs. She will make battlers out of your babies, but not you."

Realization hit me. She had been using me the entire time, just because I could learn a move. Did that mean she cared less about me? Oh please let that not be the case.

"It's not, dear friend. TAYLOR cares about pokémon for battles. Sure, she'll treat you right, but all she wants is strong pokémon. She'll be nice to you, befriend you, but once she has no use for you she'll put you in the PC, move on to another battler, and only take you out when she needs you. TAYLOR isn't mean, just efficient."

After all that I wanted to run away, run back to Route 36. But I could not, not after what she had done for me. Sure she only wanted to use me to have children, but she was nice to me, let me level up, kept me and stayed with me. I owed it to her to fulfill my purpose. I wondered if her other pokémon felt this way.

TAYLOR took me to this place south of Goldenrod, a small building with a large fenced backyard and a river flowing gently near the fence. She left me there, with an old couple tending to me. TAYLOR then flew somewhere on Eggy's back, saying she'd be coming to get me once she took care of something.

I waved good-bye to her. I missed her afterwards.

The next day she came back, a pokéball in hand. She left that pokéball in the hands of the old couple that I knew were to take care of it.

TAYLOR had gone out to catch a Geodude, a female one. I quickly made friends with her, as she was timid and scared. TAYLOR had just caught her, and the Geodude knew nothing of being a trainer's pokémon. I stayed by the Geodude's side until we became friends. Then she never left my side.

She was sweet and kind, Geo as I called her. In the days we spent together in that daycare we were very close, closer than I was with Shuckie.

I cared for her, and her for me. I never wanted her to leave my side, ever, and we were always together.

TAYLOR would come often to check on us, teasing about how close Geo and I were. TAYLOR was so kind to us, and Geo and I had the same affection for our trainer and for each other. But yet, somehow, whenever TAYLOR came she always seemed disappointed, as if she was looking for something that wasn't there.

One night, I let Geo sleep by my side. She was a rock pokémon just like me, but her skin is much harder and more rock looking than mine. It was uncomfortable to have her sleep next to me, but I put up with it. I wanted Geo next to me.

The next day I found a bump under my head. Between Geo and me was a strange rock, pale gray with dark green spots on it. Geo and I, thinking nothing of it, played catch with it. Then the daycare man saw us doing it, and took the gray rock away from us.

He told us it was an egg. Geo did not know what an egg was, but I had hatched from one. I had just mated with Geo.

I feared the day TAYLOR would visit Geo and I after we had our egg.

When TAYLOR did come she finally looked happy, like a child getting out of sermon. She took the egg, and I did not mind that. TAYLOR had taken such good care of me as an egg; I knew she would nurse my child well.

I was put in the PC after that. Geo was released.

My child, Crumble, as he was nicknamed, grew to become a strong Golem, and trained all the way to level 100.

I took him to Mt. Moon one day and showed him Geo, who had evolved into a Graveler through time. Crumble did not recognize me as his father or Geo as his mother. He almost attacked Geo.

I saw him battle once. Saw him clobber through the Elite Four with Rocket's ferocity. I saw him use Rock Slide, the move he inherited from me. I am proud of my son. And I will produce many more, many more battlers.

My name is Sudowoodo. I am a breeder, a father, and my children are the best.

* * *

The events in this story are based on actual events. I did train a Sudowoodo for the sole purpose of breeding it to teach other rock pokémon Rock Slide. I did train my Sudowoodo through EXP Share and used my Scizor Rocket as the sharee. The pokémon mentioned are my actual pokémon with their actual nicknames. The reasons given as to why I always keep them in my party are the actual reasons why I keep them in my party. Matter of fact, every event in this story is real just with a fictional account stringing them together.

My game name is TAYLOR, which is why in this story the name is always in all capitals. After all, aren't all pokémon game names all in capital? Taylor is not my real name.

I wanted to create a story that was based solely on the games, and centers around the pokémon. There is a sequel to this, the story of my Ledian and Espion, a story of psychics. Please tell me if you like this story or not, as feedback is major in keeping this story going.

After all, doesn't it make you wonder? What do the pokémon in your game think when you train them?


	2. GLOW: More than a Mental Thing

Pokémon is a licensed trademark of Nintendo. This fictional account belongs to the author and should not be reproduced, whether in portion or entirety, without the author's consent.

* * *

I am a fighter, born and bred. I belonged to a trainer since my conception. I am strong. I am powerful. And I am horribly unnatural. 

My parents were pokémon, but my trainer was the only caretaker I'd ever known. She hatched me, raised me. She was all I ever needed.

Back then I was a simple Ledyba, no nickname. A little red bug/flying pokémon with wings and six legs. And TAYLOR made me great. She gave me everything.

TAYLOR was no casual trainer. She trained the best, turned babies into warriors. She had an assembly of fighters—a box full, I think—all at the peak of their strength. And it was said, by her hand, the best were made.

But I was a baby then. Newly hatched. Popped out of my egg with no strength to my name. What could she possibly do with me?

TAYLOR was going to take me to the extreme. But I had to gain experience first. All I knew was TACKLE, and even that wasn't strong enough to knock out a Sentret on the skirts of New Bark Town.

So TAYLOR took me to the Elite Four.

She didn't battle me, of course. Instead she gave me this small metal bar. It was only 6 inches long, but had a sleek, computerized look to it. A small chip was in the center, and it seemed to glow with a gray light. She curled my ball hands around it. I obeyed.

The first of the elite was a man in a red mask, a mask as red as my wing coverings. He and TAYLOR exchanged bows, then he sauntered off to his side of the battlefield. TAYLOR whipped out a pokéball, and waited for him to go first.

His choice for a start was Xatu, a bird pokémon that looked like a living statue. TAYLOR wasn't impressed. She cast out her pokémon with a rehearsed wave of her hand.

The pokéball broke open with a flash and an echoing metallic snap, like computer thunder. The light stretched and wiggled, like an exploding star. Then the light folded in on itself. It formed a smooth surface, and took an animal shape.

That was when I first saw him, the pokémon that would impact my life forever.

An Espeon, called RA.

That battle was the first battle I had ever seen. It's become my standard, what I thought all pokémon battles should and would be like. There was no jumping, no clawing, no fencing of limbs or blasts of energy.

Instead they both just stood there, RA and the Xatu. No trainer called out a move. Just silence.

Finally, "Psychic," said TAYLOR.

"Confuse Ray!" said the elite.

Then more stillness. Neither pokémon moved, despite the attacks that were called out. I gripped my bar anxiously. It was too tense.

Then the Xatu fell over, eyes frozen, body as rigid as a pillar. It made a hollow clunk sound when it hit the floor, like a dropped a pipe. It rolled forward, stopping only when its stiff feathers kept it from rolling more. The elite called his pokémon back, and RA relaxed on the battlefield. His tail fell to his side, twitching.

TAYLOR had given me EXP Share before the battle. So when RA won, half of the fight pooled into me.

I've never felt such a rush. I hadn't set foot on the battlefield, but I felt as if I had flown over all of Kanto. My muscles coiled and tensed, pulsing like I'd sparred against a Scyther. But my mind was exhausted. My eyes teetered to the edge of fuzzy, and I wanted to sleep forever. It was like something had drilled through my head, or I had just solved an agonizing puzzle.

But I also felt much stronger. The infantile jelly faded from me, and I felt like I could tussle with a Gym Leader.

TAYLOR smiled at me. I was growing up. I had shot up five levels, and was on my way to the top.

After blowing through the Elite Four, TAYLOR flew to a mountain, called Mt. Silver. She camped in front of the Pokémon Center. It was on that master mountain that I was introduced to her party.

TAYLOR let out all her pokémon at night. A Raikou sparked a faggot of sticks into flame, and a Furret collected sticks for fuel. A Shuckle, only a few levels above me, approached me first.

"Hey!"

"Hello." He was strange looking to me, no more than a rock with some worms wiggling out of it. But still, if he was with TAYLOR, he couldn't be bad.

"My name's Shuckie, care for some berry juice?" he offered, withdrawing a tentacle then poking it back out with some berry juice glistening on its tip.

It didn't look very sanitary to me then. "No thanks."

He shrugged, licked off the juice, and hopped to my side. His tentacles were useless for walking, so he thrust his body upwards for a jump. I'd never, ever, see a pokémon move as strangely as Shuckie. "I heard you got your first taste of experience today, right?"

I eyed him warily, I was trying to close myself up but he kept putting himself forward. I wanted to snuggle next to TAYLOR and sleep. "Yeah?"

"Feels great, doesn't it?"

"It did," I said, looking into the fire. Gaining experience was intense. I felt like I had been shot through the sun.

Shuckie seemed to wiggle uncomfortably, but he still spoke as sincerely as before. "There's going to be another battle tomorrow. TAYLOR's going against RED."

"Is he one of the Elite?"

"No. He's better. Much better. Above the Elite. Pokémon stronger than you would believe."

Fighting stronger pokémon meant more experience for me. I'd found that out after the Elite. Tomorrow held much promise.

"And wait until you start battling, it's the best."

I'd never considered that before. I thought the bar would take up as high as TAYLOR wanted me to go. I would have to fight? Would I ever be strong enough?

"Don't seem so scared!" Shuckie had seen my freaked out face. "TAYLOR will only send you out when you're ready. But still, it'll only be a matter of time."

I didn't know if I wanted to fight. I wanted experience—it satisfied me more than any berry ever would—but the EXP Share had also sent exhaustion with those points. Would experience cost me pain?

"H-have you…" I stuttered. I hadn't talked to a pokémon before. "…ever…battled?"

Shuckie frowned, and looked away, shaking his head in disgrace. "TAYLOR has never trained me. Probably never will. See, I'm just here to make berry juice for the starting pokémon. That, and I'm not really hers. She got me in a trade. I…I'll never be a battler. I'm…I'm a stand-in."

I didn't know what a stand-in was, but it didn't hold the honor of a battler. I wanted Shuckie to be a battler. He was a bug pokémon—part bug really—and he deserved to be as strong as I was going to get.

I didn't ask anymore questions. Shuckie changed the topic and introduced me to TAYLOR's field pokémon. There was a Furret that could slash trees and swim across oceans, a Togetic that could attack with bursts of light and fly all across Johto, a Raikou, one of the pokémon of legends, that could attack with lightning.

And then, there was him. RA.

Shuckie told me he was the battler TAYLOR was currently training, that he was nearly at his top so TAYLOR started training me. Shuckie said he was a strong psychic pokémon, and that I would be seeing him often.

RA was the one who fought while I absorbed experience. He would be the one fighting RED tomorrow.

The next morning, TAYLOR took us into the cave. The Togetic sent out a burst of light that turned the cave darkness into daylight. The light seemed trapped in the cave, and brightened everything so every rock could be seen. TAYLOR donned a bicycle, and led us to the top of the cave. She rolled up a series of plateaus, past lakes and waterfalls, until she came to a final rock high-rising. She nodded to RA, then sped up to the zenith.

At the top was a single trainer. A boy with a red hat that was training in the heart of the mountain, a Pikachu at his side. TAYLOR dismounted, challenged him, then sent RA in.

RA never had to move. He stood stock still, stared at his opponent, awaited TAYLOR to chant the word 'Psychic' and the pokémon fell over as if shot. He clobbered a Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Red's whole party! I leveled up tons from that battle. My mind ached afterwards. I wondered, for the first time, if RA felt the same way.

Afterwards, TAYLOR biked along the foot of Mt. Silver. She said we were heading back to Kanto, to fight the Elite again. She said we had to cross over into Kanto via a route running along Mt. Silver, and then the Togetic could fly us to Indigo Plateau.

We camped near a house, the only house by Mt. Silver. It was owned by a lady with a Skarmory that let us use her running water.

While all the pokémon and TAYLOR slept, RA crept off. I followed him.

We were linked, RA and I, from the very beginning. I fought battle vicariously through him, no, we fought battles by each other's side. We had a bond of pokémon, trained to fight. And our minds…our minds were alike more than any other pokémon in all of Johto and Kanto.

I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back then, RA was a very intimidating figure. He was sleek and strong, like a bullet. His fur was a shade of lavender that darkened with his emotions. That, and he could defeat pokémon just standing still.

He sensed me before I made my presence aware. "What are you doing here?"

It startled me. I was as quiet as could be. I was a bug pokémon, and could move silently through wood and brush. He couldn't see behind him, could he?

"I-I-I…hello." Nothing coming out was right. I wanted to say so much to him, but the words wouldn't catch long enough for me to say them.

RA swished his tail impatiently, back to me. "You should sleep. Young pokémon need their rest."

His voice was deep, and seemed to echo in my head long after he'd spoken. I fidgeted, and my wings fluttered beyond my control.

"You make much noise," said RA. Then, with a twitch of his tail, my wings stopped moving. I felt a presence snap my wings back under their casings and hold them still, but not by my will.

I fumbled for words again. "Thank you…f-f-for-r-r…"

"The experience? You're welcome, miss."

I gaped. How did he know what I came here to say? How did he know I was a girl too? All bug pokémon speak in a high pitched squeak, or buzz to communicate. Usually only a bug pokémon can tell the gender of another bug pokémon, and that is only because our antennae can sense hormones given off in the air. RA wasn't a bug type. How did he know?

"You ask many questions," he seemed to laugh.

I felt scared. What was he doing? Reading my mind? No. No! I shut my head off, slamming doors and pulling up barriers.

RA twitched, as if an apricorn had fallen on his head.

He turned to me. _"Not bad for one your level."_

I stared at him. I didn't hear his voice. His mouth didn't move. He was in my head, speaking to me.

_"Do not be afraid, this is perfectly normal."_

I shook my head, mounting more barriers. This was not normal. I had only been out of my egg for a few days but I knew this was not normal.

RA twitched again, like he was holding back a sneeze.

_"Stop it, get out of my head!"_ I screamed. But my lips didn't move. My mind seemed to pulse out the words.

RA wiggled his ears, even though he had physically heard nothing. "Let down your walls and listen to me," he said with his mouth. I kept my hands around my head.

RA spoke again, using lip words. "The form of communication I just used is perfectly natural, for psychic pokémon and those with a certain degree of psychic powers. The minds of psychic pokémon are stronger than any other type, so talking with thoughts takes little energy. But for others, or those ill practiced, it is more exhausting than words. You are tired, yes?"

I waggled my antennae. I was a bit tuckered out, even though I hadn't moved since I'd got there.

"I don't understand," I said. "I'm not a psychic pokémon. I'm a bug type, and bug types and psychic types are as different as can be." Psychics are weak against Bugs, though it's hard to believe. It was hard to believe that a pokémon that fought standing still could faint after a few Fury Cutters.

RA turned to me, and smiled so broadly his whiskers curled up. "But you, my dear, have the mind of a psychic. You have a mind above that of any bug."

* * *

We arrived in Indigo that afternoon. RA was taking on the Elite Four again, and I was to suck up experience. 

RA whispered something into my head before we passed through the battle doors. "Pay attention to what happens to me. You'll see what Psychic is really like."

TAYLOR handed me my EXP Share, and sent out RA against the Xatu again. I twitched my antennae to help me think and concentrate. RA and the Xatu held their still poses again. I picked up hormones from both pokémon—the Xatu was a male—and found out that the air tasted like snow lilies. It was cold in this room, like the air conditioning was on full blast from above.

But, as far as I could tell, nothing was happening to RA.

"Psychic."

That was RA's first lesson to me. At that command his back arched slightly, a small cat curve. His tail stopped wiggling, his ears jolted straight.

And, when I paid enough attention, I saw the Psychic attack.

It first appeared as blue waves, dancing before my eyes. The entire arena faded into darkness, now that I was using my mind's eye. TAYLOR, her pokémon, and the elite flicked like stars in the background, but RA and the Xatu burned like suns.

After that I stopped seeing things. Vision doesn't properly catch psychic action; RA would tell me that later. As I focused, I stopped seeing altogether. It was as if I had gone blind! I had lost one sense, and amplified another.

My eyes had stopped seeing things. The sensitivity and processes needed to catch psychic activity are too much for the eyes. Only the mind can go through information fast enough.

And that was what I felt…er…saw…or whatever. It was like all my senses had been stripped away, no, regressed back to their purest forms. I wasn't smelling, but I had the sensation of smell. I didn't need to waggle my antennae, I just had smell. I had taste too, but I couldn't feel my mouth sending me taste signals.

It was amazing! Incredible! My mind buzzed!

Then I felt RA's presence again. I 'saw' the Xatu too. RA was putting pressure on him, psychic pressure. The Xatu was fighting back with barriers, like the mental barriers I had jammed up last night. But RA was pushing hard against the Xatu's barriers. They weren't strong enough, I could tell. They were cracking, breaking.

Then they crumbled. RA wrapped himself all around that Xatu, then reduced it to nothing. It stopped glowing.

The Psychic activity waned. My vision went back to my eyes. The Xatu had fallen over, fainted. Experience shot into me.

I groped for my mind's eye again. I found strength in pockets of my mind. I tapped into one that seemed the most familiar, the one I had used before to talk with RA. I coiled my strength around it, easily found RA's mind, and sent a message.

_"I saw."_ It was basic, but all I could manage. RA's battle had tuckered me out. His mental strain socked into me through the EXP Share, and because I had some psychic abilities they hurt more than they would for an ordinary Ledyba.

_"Good, now keep paying attention."_ RA's message was effortless, a light and loud thought.

He had told me before it took little effort. But he could still broadcast after a battle! I had only taken half of his beating and I could barely manage.

I watched him zip through the Elite Four, tapping into my mind's eye whenever I could. It was like I couldn't enjoy, or see, the actual fighting without looking with my mind. RA was incredible, his mind like a Machamp's muscle.

I wanted him to teach me more. I waited until we were camping in front of Mt. Silver again to ask for a lesson.

He left the crowd of pokémon around the campfire. I followed him. _"Did you like what you saw?"_ he spoke to me in thoughts.

"It was amazing," I said in words.

_"To other pokémon, I guess it would be,"_ spoke RA with little strain in his message. _"Other pokémon are so used to force, to swinging their arms or spraying out light. They've never fought a battle unseen."_

"Is it a fight of minds?" I asked. The way he spoke didn't bother me so much anymore. Now that I had had a glimpse of Psychic, telepathic communication didn't seem as bizarre.

_"Not so much of minds as mental force. There is much power in thoughts. And much danger,"_ he spoke. He voice trailed off deeply. I wanted to hear more, wanted him to just speak using words that shot deep into me.

_"You have this power as well,"_ he spoke.

"I do?" I said.

_"How else would you see Psychic or speak with your head?"_ he spoke. It was really getting awkward that, between the two of us, only my words would be heard by a passerby.

"You said my mind was higher than a bug's. I thought that was just a gift. I thought all I could do was see and speak," I said.

RA smiled at me, that cunning smile that he did whenever he saw something that was so obvious yet hidden to me. The smile that made me act oblivious, just so he would do it. _"You have a psychic gift, miss, and it's a shame you don't fully use it."_

A psychic gift? Me? How?

_"You were hatched from an egg, correct?"_ I nodded. He kept speaking, _"You, miss, are a very special pokémon. You were specially bred; I was there when TAYLOR caught your parents. She bred them, specially, to get the combination that is you. For you see, your father passed down a great gift to you, his daughter, a move that little bug pokémon learn. A psychic move. That is why your mind developed differently, advanced more before you hatched."_

I listened, entranced. How did RA know so much about me? About my history? Bred? I did not understand the concept, not at the time. But I knew that I was not a regular bug pokémon anymore.

"Do you know what that move is?" he said to me, lips twitching in a grin.

I shook my head numbly. This was too much for me to absorb in. My mind seemed stronger than any other sense I had right now.

"It is called Psybeam," RA said. "It's a concentration of psychic energy, focused in a beam and fired. It's a bit barbaric, and isn't a fully developed psychic move. Psychic is much more powerful, the highest psychic move. Psybeam is like…like Hyper Beam, but using your mind."

I tried to imagine it. It formed an easier picture than Psychic ever would. I guess it's because of what RA said, Psybeam is a bit cruder than Psychic.

_"Would you like to use it?"_ he spoke to me.

My mind was exhausted from all the new information, but I wasn't going to give up the opportunity. I nodded, hoping I wouldn't knock myself out.

_"As you wish. You may use me as a target."_

I goggled. I was going to be firing at RA? I didn't have a chance of hurting him! I was still nursing off him!

_"Do not be intimidated. Psybeam is not very effective against psychic type pokémon, we just have natural mental barriers that resist most of its force. I will not be harmed."_

RA didn't add that there was so much of a level gap between us I wasn't going to hurt him anyway. He was being polite by omission. He'd always be like that.

"What do I do?" I said.

_"I learned Psybeam once, allow me some time to remember."_ RA paused for a time, like he was locked in a Psychic. Finally he spoke, _"Gather all the strength in your mind and push it until it's ready to burst. Then concentrate on me, your target. Let the energy go, but be sure to keep it in a beam, otherwise it will flay out in all directions."_

I closed my eyes and searched for my mind's eye again. I found it easily, and the pocket where I kept my thought-speak. But I didn't need seeing or speaking now. I needed to attack. I needed to find the attack energy.

I stumbled onto a pocket bursting with energy. This must've been it. I curled it into a ball, compacting it together until I could push it no further. It kept wanting to uncurl, like a stubborn Ekans, but I balled it and held it. Then I had to find RA. The ball didn't want to stay together, and while I was looking for my target I had to shift back to my energy and pull it back together. I wondered how long it took me to finally find him. I lost my sense of time when all my other senses took a backseat.

Finally I 'saw' him. I instantly shot out my Psybeam at him. It rushed out, clambering out of my mind and to my opponent's. But I forgot to keep the beam together. It scattered before it even hit RA's barriers, tendrils of psychic energy slithered out to the woods.

My mind's eye faded. All my energy had gone into that Psybeam. I'd forgotten to conserve. My other senses reappeared. My vision told me it was night time, and my body was overheating from the strain. A Pidgy squawked as it raced from a tree. I guess my psychic energy had hit a chance target.

RA didn't look at me with disappointment. In fact, I think he expected me to fail my first attempt. RA probably knew, with my control, I wouldn't get it right. RA knew things like that. Maybe because he was a psychic pokémon, and I just had psychic powers.

_"You did well for a first attempt,"_ he spoke.

"I messed up," I said.

_"It is not easy for those not used to the gift,"_ he spoke.

"Are all psychic pokémon born with this gift?"

_"It is more like…an ability,"_ he spoke.

"So do they get it right on their first try?"

_"Their first attacks, yes,"_ he spoke bluntly. _"But Psybeam is a slightly advanced move. Most psychic-born know only Teleport, or Hypnosis. Then they move on to Confusion. Psybeam is much later."_

"It's tiring," I said, complaining.

RA smirked and spoke, _"Few pokémon have a psychic's mental endurance. It will take time, practice, study."_

"Then teach me," I said. "All that you know."

_"Very well, but I cannot help you get to the level of Psychic. That move is impossible for you to learn. I'm sorry, but Psybeam is as high as you will get."_

"I don't care, I just want to get this move!" I said.

_"Then I will teach you. Prepare for a very long course."

* * *

_

And RA taught me everything that I could learn. My progress was agonizingly slow. Sometimes my mind would cramp, and the energy wouldn't flow. Sometimes the energy would burst before I could coil it. I could only do a few beams per night. RA pushed me, but was always patient with my formation and execution. It took weeks until I could shoot a solid beam at him.

Yes, one day I finally did hit him.

After that moment, I would never resort to physical attacks again. Tackles, Body Slams, heck even special attacks paled in comparison to psychic attacks. Psybeam was like a…how do I describe this to one who doesn't have a mind's eye? It's like a jet of water, only pulled from your head. It kinda looks like…a rainbow. Yeah, a rainbow beam. Only, when you have a mind's eye, you can see past the rainbow. I could see thoughts, and those are beyond description.

The beam smacked right into RA's mental barriers, and shattered. RA's wall stood, barely dented. I would never be able to harm him mentally. He was psychic-born, and had a higher special defense than I.

RA also educated me on the ups and downs of psychics. He told me never to meddle in the minds of others outside of a battle, not to abuse my power by attacking the minds of other pokémon unless my trainer called for me to attack. He taught me of how psychic pokémon are born, how they are raised, how their minds mature and strengthen; things I would never find out because I was not a natural psychic pokémon. If it hadn't been for RA I would never have learned to harness Psybeam. RA was older than me, and some of his advice was from experience, the rest from wisdom of a true psychic-type. Some days I would practice Psybeam, and some days we would talk, and I was always learning.

It was during those training sessions that I first noticed how sleek RA's body was. RA was made of smooth curves, and walked with a swaying grace. His eyes were the color of midnight sky over Mt. Moon. Whiskers swayed like Suicune lace when he turned his head. He wasn't just mentally strong, but physically agile. He could climb trees, and jump from branch to branch without a spray of leaves when he landed. I could do that too, but I had wings. RA could fly on his own four feet.

Soon I stopped coming to him just for the training. I wanted to be around him more, to just soak up his presence. I guess I wanted to absorb as much of his strength as I could, since I was so used to EXP Sharing off him. I wanted to talk to him so often, and yet I was terrified of bothering him. My mental communication improved greatly from our many conversations, and soon it didn't hurt to say simple sentences. We would talk the night away, without uttering a word.

One day I wished I wasn't a bug. I wished I wasn't this round, awkward looking pokémon. I wanted to be a psychic type, so then I could relate to RA more. I wanted to be as sleek as a Ninetails, to be as pretty as a Bellosom and as graceful as an Articuno. I would give up my wings for some curves. I wanted to be beautiful, and I wanted RA to look at me.

One day we were at Indigo, battling the Elite Four again. I was still EXP Sharing off of RA, and he was clobbering through Bruno's pokémon. The puny fighting pokémon didn't stand a chance. RA told me that fighting pokémon have concentrated so much energy into their physical strength that they don't have very strong mental barriers. It was child's play for RA. The fighters fell, one after the other.

The bar glowed every time one fell. I grew strong and stronger. And then I changed.

Evolution isn't painful, but it's not a pleasant experience. Theories go that pokémon DNA is never fully expressed, and that evolution is just expression of a different part of pokémon's DNA, or evolution is a kind of mutation, or evolution is something like puberty-to-adulthood in the span of a minute. One moment the bar was glowing, the next I was glowing. The battle stopped immediately. Everyone was watching me, fascinated, awed. RA was watching me too. I hoped he was impressed.

Evolution is a strange process, and because of my heightened psychic powers I was fully aware of what was happening to me. I was growing taller, getting bigger. My muscles grew bigger, developed even further. It was like growing inside my egg, only without a shell. My wings grew stronger. My body shrunk. I felt something growing under my head. It was a neck. My antennae lengthened, as did my eyes.

The glow stopped. The evolution was over. I felt smaller, but taller. I was a Ledian.

TAYLOR's pokémon congratulated me. Said they knew the time was coming, said I was now much stronger than before. I certainly felt stronger. I felt like I had just sapped the entire Elite Four of experience and leveled up immensely. I didn't know how high my stats had jumped. TAYLOR gave me a hug. Said she was proud of me. But she wasn't the only person I wanted to impress.

RA smiled at me, a bemused smile. _"Well done,"_ he spoke.

* * *

TAYLOR went berry collecting across Johto after the Elite battle. She said she had to replenish her supplies before she took on Red again. Said she was out of Mysteryberries, and needed to go buy some repel. While we were ferried across Johto searching for berry trees, I snuck away to a pond near Blackthorn City, and finally saw what I looked like after evolution. 

I was a foot taller. My main body was smaller, but my wings had grown larger. My head had become thinner, and looked more like a helmet than my old dopey face. My eyes had turned blue, a cerulean shade. I liked them. My antennae were longer, thinner, like bent needles. I stood upright now, my hind legs now feet, my upper four legs hands. I looked more human. I wasn't completely round anymore. I had curves, not a lot of them, but curves. I definitely felt much prettier, less clumsier, and sleek.

_"Enjoying your transformation?"_ a voice chimed in my head. I spun around and flared out my wings. RA was behind me. I relaxed.

_"Evolution is strange, isn't it?"_ he spoke again to me. I sensed empathy in his voice.

_"You're an evolved pokémon, aren't you?"_ I spoke back to him.

RA flashed me a patronizing smile. _"It's not that obvious?" _RA was never this sardonic before. What was with the bitter words?

_"I just…I love my new body,"_ I spoke, doing a spin for him. He didn't look amused.

_"Yes, the changes are sudden and wonderful. You'll spend days just figuring out what you can now do."_

_"I know,"_ my mind's voice said eagerly_. "Can you imagine what I can do now? How much longer I can fly? How much faster I can fly? Maybe my mind's stronger now too!"_

RA smiled sadly. _"Yes, maybe it is stronger."_

RA knew more about me than anyone else. But I knew nothing about him. I knew a bit about how he acted, picked up how he thought. But other than that, nothing. I didn't know what was wrong with him.

_"You are concerned, I do not wish to worry you."_ I had been broadcasting my thoughts without knowing. I pulled up my barriers again.

_"I just remembered my evolution. Wondrous times, so long ago."_

RA's forked tail fell to his side limply. _"We have more in common than I've told you, I am also a hatched pokémon."_

RA? In an egg? RA was once a weak infant like me? No way!

_"My father, was also an Espeon, though he was just a breeder. TAYLOR never trained him. She didn't want him to be a battler. She chose me to be her battling Espeon instead."_ There was resentment in RA's voice. Who was he mad at?

_"I am an evolved form of a very sought after pokémon, Eevee. Eevee can evolve into five different forms, depending on how you raise it."_

Five different forms? How could pokémon evolve that way?

_"Espeons evolve from Eevees when the Eevees have a strong bond with their trainers. TAYLOR carried me in her party for a very long time. I used to get haircuts often, went to tea with TAYLOR. She pampered me. But what I didn't know was that she was timing me. One day I wanted to do something special for her. She trained me a little, and I leveled up from a battle. I wanted to impress her, do something so great that she would praise me forever."_

I knew what that felt like.

_"So I evolved for her. After that, she battled me constantly. I never got the same treatment after I became a battler._

_"In the end I have little to criticize you. I am not a psychic-born either."_

_"It doesn't matter that you're not a psychic when you hatched. You have more strength than I ever will,"_ I spoke back. RA didn't lighten.

_"I have five siblings. TAYLOR plans to train all the evolutions of Eevee. I am simply the first of many…_

_"LEDIAN, TAYLOR will begin training you soon,"_ RA snapped to another topic. _"She's going to be taking a boat to Kanto instead of hiking along Mt. Silver. There are trainers on that ship, the S.S. Anne. You'll fight your first battles there."_

Fighting? Me? After all of RA's training I didn't think I was ready for another opponent. After all, I had never used my psychic powers on anyone other than RA.

_"You are…apprehensive?"_ he spoke. He wasn't bitter anymore, his concern for me overtook that resentment.

I was glad for that. _"Scared, really."_

_"The trainers there are no Elites. You will triumph. TAYLOR would not send you if she did not believe you were ready."_

He was right. I trusted TAYLOR. I trusted RA. But I was still scared. Most pokémon used physical attacks. I had been mind training for the longest time.

_"Just remember to focus, that will be the hardest part of the battles."_

RA left me with that. I hoped, that if I lost, RA wouldn't be watching.

* * *

The ship was cutting through Johto waters. TAYLOR had sent me off on battles first. My first bout was against a Persian. It pounced on me before I could ready a Psybeam. It pinned me to the ground, snarling. It pulled up one of its claws, ready to Slash. 

"Psybeam," was all TAYLOR had to say. At her words the beam flew from my head, smacked right into the Persian's, and down it fell. I was rattled, but I had won my first match. Battles after that were easy.

After fighting our way through the ship, TAYLOR went to take a nap. The pokémon were free to roam the ship, as long as we went back to her room when the boat landed in Vermillion.

I caught up with RA on the main deck. _"I won!" _I chimed in a loud mental scream.

RA's ears twitched uncomfortably, but he invited me to sit beside him. _"I am glad for you," _he spoke back. Passengers walked by us, none the wiser of our conversation.

"It was amazing. At first I couldn't do anything. This Persian jumped right on me. Then TAYLOR says 'Psybeam' from behind me, and it zips off perfectly! I won with one hit!"

RA nodded. _"Yes, a trainer does have that effect on their pokémon in battle."_

I sighed, relaxed and free. _"I earned my own experience for the first time. I've never had a battle without the EXP Share in my hands. I kept clenching my fingers, forgetting it wasn't there with me." I laughed, but all people would've seen was a smile. "This exhaustion, it's real. I'm really, actually tired after a battle. It feels more…natural though."_

_"Are you very fatigued?"_ RA asked.

_"Not very. TAYLOR gave me berries between battles so I'm okay. Just kinda tuckered out, I guess."_

_"You must have exhausted your Psybeam. TAYLOR must've forgotten to give you a Mysteryberry before her nap. Your power points must be depleted."_

_"Maybe so,"_ I yawned. My head slid across the wall, and landed on RA's shoulder.

I felt myself flying. "_I will bring you to TAYLOR's room. You can find better rest there."_

When I opened my eyes I really was flying, or at least floating. I tapped into my mind's eye without much thought, I'd learned that if I couldn't figure out anything with my normal senses my mind's eye held the key. A blue light was around me, like Psychic, only it wasn't pushing into my mind. I felt RA's presence all around me, holding me securely in the air.

RA was using his Psychic attack to levitate me. Only I was too tired to appreciate. It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud.

RA took me to TAYLOR's room, and we fell asleep on her bed next to her. I collapsed on the spot, curling into a ball on the blanket. RA curled his tail around me, and rolled into a cat ball in sleep.

* * *

RA and I split battles. I would fight on the S.S. Anne and RA would handle the elite. After fighting on the ship, soaking up half of RA's experience didn't satisfy me as much as it used to. My levels didn't climb as quickly anymore, and I hungered for battle to make them rise. I watched RA fight anyway, picking up his form and technique that only I could see. 

One day TAYLOR said I was taking on the Elite.

I was terrified and giddy at the same time. I had awaiting this moment, the day where I could mash minds with the toughest pokémon. I'd never squared off against a fellow psychic before!

To commemorate my advance TAYLOR took me to Lavender Town, a small down at the base of the Rock Tunnel, an underground mountain path. A large building with more antennas than a Tangela has vines towered over the city, the newly built Radio Tower.

Something about the town made me uneasy. I felt other minds swimming around me, but they were faint and left before I could focus on them. Somehow, their presence made me afraid, chilled me to the core.

RA later told me those were ghost pokémon I was sensing, and that Lavender Town was an old roost for ghost pokémon. Psychics are weak against ghost-types. I don't blame them, ghost-types would scare anybody.

TAYLOR took me to a house in the middle of Lavender. There was a jolly man with a thin black hat there. He called himself the NAME RATER.

TAYLOR changed my name that day. I was no longer LEDIAN, my name was GLOW. TAYLOR got an official certificate and everything.

I had a nickname. Something personal, something truly my own. I was no longer stuck in the mediocrity of others of my species. I had a name. I was a battler now, like RA.

We flew to Indigo Plateau later, where I would face the Elite.

* * *

Over time I had learned the strengths and weaknesses of Psychic pokémon. 

They were strong against Poison types. RA told me how to beat up poisons with psychic attacks. See, when a psychic pokémon invades the mind of a poison type, all they have to do it access the part of the brain that controls the body chemicals. Poisons have to keep certain chemicals separate, or else they'll poison themselves. All a psychic has to do is take over those controls, and pool the wrong chemicals together. It eats away at the poison pokémon from the inside out, making psychic attacks super effective.

I fought Fighting pokémon. They were a breeze. Their minds are so simple, so easy to manipulate and overwhelm.

Ghost pokémon are strong against Psychic types. See, a ghost pokémon doesn't really have a mind, it just has a consciousness, or so says RA. Because of that a psychic attack can't overwhelm an opponent, or mess with their mind. Ghost pokémon are…dead I guess, so psychic attacks don't work.

A Psychic's biggest threat is a Dark type. I learned that at the Elite.

I had battled my way up to KAREN with little difficulty. A party of poisons, a squad of fightings, all blown away with a couple of Psybeams. TAYLOR was curious how I would handle Dark pokémon, so she sent me into battle. Bugs are strong against Dark types, see—though I don't know why—and TAYLOR wanted to see if I would have any resistance. RA didn't know I would be fighting against that Ubreon.

He would've never let me fight if he knew.

KAREN was a dangerous looking trainer. Her battlefield was completely dark, though it didn't matter to me. I was looking through my mind's eye constantly after the previous Elite battles. KAREN seemed to blend into the background, camouflaged with her black dress. Her blue hair seemed to float around her face, making her look like a ghost. Of course, to my mind's eye, she was just a pinprick of light.

Her first pokémon was an Ubreon. That was the first time I ever saw another of Eevee's evolutions. It's looked like RA, only much, much darker. Ubreon lacked RA's grace, it's refined aura. Ubreon's aura was strength, a tank defense, and overwhelming darkness. It blended into the background like its trainer, yellow rings glowing like Charmander tails in the dark.

No matter. I had faced Crobats that looked more menacing. This would be nothing to me.

I was faster. When the battle started I attacked first. I wanted to get the jump on it, blow through it and face the Elite Champion.

I was unfamiliar with Dark types back then, so I just blasted my Psybeam at it, hoping to overwhelm it straight off.

The Psybeam bounced off the Umbreon's mind. It didn't make any sense! Even when I attacked RA my attacks left a dent in his barrier, I wasn't doing any damage to this Umbreon!

I had to do something. Something fast. I tried to tap into the Umbreon's mind. I couldn't attack it through mind infiltration—like Psychic—but maybe I could find its weaknesses.

That was the first, and only time I would ever touch the mind of a Dark pokémon.

I reached out to touch it, and it ensnared me and pulled me in. I felt…dark thoughts pushing into my head. Grief. Anger. Sorrow. Resentment. Fury. Depression. All of a sudden I couldn't control my mind anymore; negative thoughts and emotions were pressing on me.

I didn't have the strength to keep up my mental barrier anymore. I wasn't in the mood for battling. I just wanted to curl up and sleep. Just curl up. Give up. I'm weak. I could never beat this thing.

_"GLOW? Are you there?"_

Another voice. It sounded familiar. But I didn't care. Why should I care? Did it matter anyway if I did?

_"GLOW? Put up your barriers! Now!"_

It didn't matter. A few flimsy barriers weren't going to help me. Just accept defeat. I could do that.

_"GLOW? I'm coming in. Do not resist me. Baton Pass!"_

I felt a stronger presence in my mind, stronger than the one I felt when I came into the Umbreon. This one was warmer, more familiar too. It poked into my mind, shifting through my memories.

And I let it. I didn't care at that point.

Then I felt my hands moving all by themselves. I wasn't controlling them anymore, I knew that. It was just like when RA held my wings still the first time we met.

Wait…RA?

Before I could snap out of the Umbreon's spell, RA took control over my attacks. He made me use one move, a move I recently learned. Baton Pass.

In an instant I was off the battlefield. I was on the sidelines, dazed and disoriented.

But I recovered just in time to see RA attacked, slammed by a Faint Attack from that Umbreon. I was still reeling from that Umbreon's Confuse Ray to Baton Pass back, switch RA off the field.

TAYLOR switched RA out herself. She sent in Raikou to finish off the Elite. RA sat at the sidelines, twitching and shaking. I wanted to go near him, touch his mind to make sure he was okay. But I didn't know what the dark attack had done to him, or how fragile his mind was now that he was wounded. I kept my distance, cursing myself.

TAYLOR healed RA before my fight with the Dragon Master. She sprayed on a Hyper Potion and popped a few Mysteryberries into RA's mouth. RA seemed better afterwards, but he didn't stalk about like he always did when I battled. I bested the Dragon Master with RA nursing his mental injuries, curled up in a corner near TAYLOR.

He sent a mental message to me when we were back in New Bark Town. I was to see him that night, while TAYLOR visited Professor Elm.

I thought he would be mad at me, angry for putting him in that kind of danger. He would hate me for it, I was sure he would. I hated myself for doing it. RA took a hit so I wouldn't faint in battle.

And somehow, the thought of RA hating me, made the Umbreon's curse seem like child's play.

RA spoke to me mentally. I was glad he still had the strength. _"Are you alright?"_

I was stunned. I had put his life in danger, and he was asking about _my_ well-being? RA is wonderful like that.

_"Fine,"_ I responded with thoughts, to prove that I was fine both mentally and physically. I couldn't say the same for RA.

_"The battle, it disturbed you, didn't it?"_ RA was curled up. He hadn't been able to walk on his own since that battle with KAREN.

_"I felt like…an overwhelming sadness, coming from that pokémon,"_ I spoke. RA knew anyway. He had felt the battle through my mind when he infiltrated it.

_"That is the mind of a Dark pokémon,"_ RA spoke forebodingly. _"Dark pokémon are the true enemy of Psychics, more than Bugs or Ghosts. Dark pokémon have such strong mental defenses that a Psychic cannot penetrate. More so, with such strong barriers they can tamper with the mind of a Psychic, turn their fire against them, you could say. When you let down your defenses to reach that Umbreon's mind, it stretched into yours as well."_

_"And it made me feel sad?"_

_"Yes. Dark pokémon can do that. That is one of their key attacks. And to a Psychic, who is so mentally sensitive, the effects are detrimental."_

I knew then that I wasn't just close to depression, I might've almost died. That Umbreon was playing with me. It knew I wasn't a natural psychic, and toyed with my mind with ease.

_"You're lucky you're a bug pokémon. Your mind, though more developed than average, is slightly simpler than the usual Psychic mind. Your Bug pokémon simplicity made the attack less effective."_

As much as I like RA, and as smart as he is, I hated it when he said I had a simpler mind that him. It was true, in a basic sense, but it made me feel inferior to him. It made a barrier between our minds that seemed unsurpassable.

Still…RA was right. It was because I wasn't a Psychic type that I had weathered as long as I had.

One question bugged me. _"Why did you save me RA? The dark attack would do more damage to you than to me."_

RA looked away, as if embarrassed. I didn't see why. _"I am stronger than you, with a higher special defense, I can live through one Faint Attack by that Umbreon. Also, I could not stand by and let you get bombarded by pain like that."_

I knew then why RA was embarrassed. I felt a little embarrassed too.

_"GLOW, never, ever, attack a Dark type pokémon again."_

_"I promise."_ I did it because I never wanted to experience something like that again. I also did it because I didn't want RA to worry. I didn't want RA to worry about me.

And yet, it made me feel better that he did.

* * *

TAYLOR never sent me out against KAREN again. I found out later that TAYLOR always made RA sit out through KAREN's battle. I would sit out that battle, and tackle the Champion afterwards. Soon I could beat the Elite easily, creaming through them like a Pidgiot through a flock of Hopip. 

And RA was always at my side. TAYLOR trained him beside me. I would face the Elite, and RA got Red.

As time went on, I leveled to the point where I could take on a few of Red's pokémon.

RA was getting near his peak, the zenith of pokémon strength, the point of no return for battlers. The strongest they could get, the end of levels. He stopped talking to me when he got into his upper 90's.

It was Shuckie who told me what happened after that. When RA reached level 100 he would leave the party forever, and go into a box where the battlers were kept. Then another battler would take his place, me.

RA had been avoiding me all those days. I finally knew why. He didn't have the heart to tell me.

I had only a few days. I had to make them count.

I caught him on the borders of Mt. Silver, in the woods near the pokémon center we were staying for the night.

RA would not speak to me, would not look at me. I knew he could sense my presence, he knew what my mind felt like. I had to make the first move.

_"RA?"_ I spoke.

RA's ears twitched, then abruptly lowered. _"Hello, GLOW."_

There was a cold formality in his voice. He would be leaving soon. He was trying to distance himself from me. I knew that. I knew RA. _"I know you're leaving soon…"_

RA stiffened. He spoke nothing.

_"…and I just wanted to ask you something."_

"_Ask it,"_ he spoke curtly, like he might be taken away any minute.

_"How much do you care about me?"_

RA's tail stopped swishing. I gave him time to choose his words, never prodding into his mind. I wanted to hear what RA had to say, not rip out his feelings.

_"More than average, I would say."_

_"Is that all?"_ There had to be more. RA had to have more to tell me before he left forever. That couldn't just be it.

_"It is the best way to describe it."_

RA was building distance between him and me, to make the separation easier. I had to do something. If he wasn't going to say anything then I would!

I jumped to my feet and fired a Psybeam right at RA, too quick for him to react and pull up his mental barriers. But I wasn't shooting to attack him. As I said before, Psybeam is just a beam of thoughts. I shot my thoughts into RA. How much I adored him. How much I cared about him and didn't want him to leave. How I would mess up Psybeam on purpose just so he would talk to me longer. How I felt when that Umbreon hit him.

I loved him. And I knew he would return that love if he knew.

RA recoiled as if slapped. His eyes snapped shut, and he shut his back to me. His shoulders were heaving, as if he'd just suffered a Crunch.

He was panting, and he said with words, _"Leave me, GLOW. Leave me and never think such thoughts again."_

I felt a Dark pokémon sadness overwhelm me. _"What? What are you talking about?"_

_"Abandon such a crazy idea,"_ he snapped at me, still talking. _"I will leave, and you will stay behind. There is nothing we can do to change that."_

I knew he was right. I had accepted the fact I would never see him again after he battled RED and got the last bits of experience he needed to advance to level 100.

_"I accept that I cannot change our fate,"_ I spoke, _"but I want to know you truly love me before you leave."_

RA's eyes narrowed, decisive. He knew I knew his answer, but it was hearing him say it that counted.

_"I do, more than you will ever know. But that does not change things. You will still let me go, yes?" _RA wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything crazy.

_"I cannot change what TAYLOR has planned. I'll let you leave, don't worry."_ I meant to do it, even though I didn't want to. I nearly choked on my words.

_"That is why I have an idea, an idea that will be with us forever,"_ I spoke. I didn't send that thought to RA in my Psybeam. I wanted to tell him myself.

_"What is it, GLOW?"_

_"Remember, how you said we were both hatched from eggs?"_

"Yes."

_"And remember, how you said my father passed down the psychic ability to me?"_ My excitement was building. My thoughts were transmitting louder.

_"Yes."_ RA didn't know where I was going. He sounded dubious.

_"I thought, that since you love me like you do, maybe…"_ I had to time this carefully, _"…maybe we could have an egg of our own?"_

RA did not speak for a time, stunned.

I pressed onwards. _"Since you're a Psychic type our children will have psychic abilities, and they'll be Ledians—or should I say Ledybas—like me! TAYLOR will raise them, of course, and they'll be as strong as can be. They'll probably be strong fliers, and have Psybeams like you wouldn't believe!"_

_"GLOW…it is impossible. Throw away this pipe dream."_

Shot. That how I felt, shot. I thought RA would adore the idea. I thought he would enjoy nothing better than mating and producing offspring in his last days. Did he hold any resentment to hatched pokémon? Did I word something wrong?

_"What do you mean?"_ Disbelief. _"It's a perfect plan, RA. Think about it, children, of our own!"_

_"It is impossible. Forget this plan."_

_"Why? Do you want to completely shut me out in your final days? Do you not want to spend your last days as happily as you can? Do you not love me enough?"_ I hoped the last one wasn't true. I could deal with the former two.

RA looked up at me, surprised. "_You misunderstand. We cannot mate, GLOW. It is impossible. Our species were not meant to conceive together_."

I felt like a Golem had rolled over me. I felt like a Snorlax had Body Slammed me from atop Goldenrod Department Store.

Impossible? But why? RA and I truly cared for each other. Why could it not be?

_"Psychics do not breed with Bugs, GLOW. It would impossible for us to produce eggs together."_

I was angry. Angry that nature had separated us permanently, and yet brought us so close. Angry that I wasn't a Psychic. Angry that I would never be good enough for RA.

Because I was a Bug. A puny, little, insignificant Bug.

I wanted to have children. I wanted RA to be the father. I wanted to raise my children, not like how mine and RA's parents abandoned us into TAYLOR's care. I wanted that family so badly.

I felt RA push his nose to mine. Bug pokémon kiss by interlocking antenna, I guess Psychics do it differently. He put his head atop mine, even though I was taller the shock caused me to fall to my knees. I cried. I hugged RA and cried.

And he used a gentle Psychic on me. Used it to push my fears away. He wrapped himself around my worries, and shielded me from them. He sent me thoughts on how much he cared about me.

And he created a memory, just for me. I never knew Psychics could make up memories. Apparently seasoned ones can. It was a memory of RA and I, in the backyard of the Daycare, playing with the children we would never have.

_"Your type does not matter. I will love you just the same."_ He imprinted those last words in my head, so I would never forget. He didn't have to do that, I could not forget even them if I tried.

RA bested RED the next day. TAYLOR gave him a pat on the head, and recalled him to his pokéball.

I hated the fact that I would never see RA again. But TAYLOR's will is absolute. It was because of her that I had gotten as strong as I had. Who was I to question her judgment? RA was gone. That was the end of it. I told myself I accepted that days ago, but it took me several days until I actually did.

RA was gone, but I still dragged myself through battle after battle with the Elite and RED. I climbed into RA's levels.

And one day TAYLOR introduced me to the pokémon that would take my place when I reached level 100. A hyper little Rattata that was bred to know Bite. I'd seen TAYLOR cart its egg over the last few days.

As I was nearing my peak level, TAYLOR told me she would have to erase one of my moves. Since I was getting near my top level, she wanted me to learn Reflect, as a supportive move. She said, in exchange, I would forget Psybeam. She said I needed more support moves.

I refused. I've never rebelled against TAYLOR before—after all, it was she who brought RA and I together—but I would not submit to her on that. I needed Psybeam. It was the only thing I had left of days with RA. My family was dashed, and RA was gone. I needed something I would hold forever. If I lost Psybeam I would lose my psychic abilities, and I would forget all that I desperately held onto of RA.

I fought TAYLOR tooth-and-nail. She got mad at me, I know she did, though I did not mean for to. I hated fighting with my trainer; it left a horrible taste in my mouth and made me feel ungrateful and selfish. She pressed and pressed, but I wouldn't give up my Psybeam.

Finally she acquiesced. Said I was being too difficult and stubborn, said I wouldn't be as strong as I could be without Reflect in my arsenal.

I didn't want to disobey TAYLOR. I cherished her word above all else, and wanted to be strong for her. But I loved RA, and I would not let his memory fade.

I let TAYLOR take RA away before. That was her business, RA was her pokémon. But I owned myself as much as she owned me, and I didn't want to forget.

I did reach level 100. TAYLOR put me in the box too, following RA. And that is where I will wait forever, until TAYLOR calls on me to fight again.

Psychic thoughts cannot penetrate the metal shell of a pokéball, but I know that RA will always be beside me, and that he will always love me.

And for forever, that is all I have.

My name is GLOW, I am a born battler. I was born with a rare psychic ability, given only through special breeding. I have mastered this ability, with the help of the Espeon I came to love. I have trained against the strongest of trainers, and flown over all of Johto and Kanto. I have reached the physical point of no return, and can advance no further in my training. I have loved, built castles in the sky, and had them washed away.

And now, until forever, I will wait, and dream of memories and things never to be.

* * *

This story is based on an actual occurrence in my Gold Version. I did have an Espeon, nicknamed RA, and a Ledian that I trained when RA was getting on in levels, GLOW. GLOW was succeeded by a Raticate, affectionately named SQUEAKERS (though that never comes into play here). 

Again, based on game events. None of the stories in this collection heed the anime in any way. Notice the number of game references and pokémon move references GLOW makes.

I feel like I'm rationalizing Pokémon. Again, another game concept told from a different view. Weren't expecting a romance after the Sudowoodo story, were ya?

In case no one has figured this out by the end of the story, 'spoke' indicates a pure thought-speak conversation when used in the context of GLOW and RA. 'said' indicates actual spoken words, words communicated through the mouth and involve listening. I tried to make this obvious in the story, but it was hard to do so without outright saying it. I hope readers picked up on this little thing.

I was surprised at the amount of sympathy and remorse I conjured up in Sudowoodo's story. It's nice to know my writing struck a nerve with some people.

I'm really getting to detest way of formatting stories. I had a neat way of setting up the pokemon's names, which were erased when I uploaded the document. Where's the writing freedom?

If any one wishes to see the 'pure' version, email me and I'll send it to you.

Reviews are always welcome, as I'd like to hear readers' comments on the style of these stories. Critiques, advice and 'what I didn't like + what I did like' recommended.

Ttfn everyone!


	3. SQUEAKERS: Addicting Victory

Pokémon is a licensed trademark of Nintendo. This fictional account belongs to the author and should not be reproduced without due credit given to the author.

A/N: I'm trying out an experimental style of writing, and would appreciate feedback on how I handled it.

* * *

A battler. I am a battler. Best battler. Most best. Best. Best. Best. Strong. Yes, strong. Very strong.

Born Rattata. TAYLOR, trainer. Raised Raticate. Hatched Raticate. Made strong. Made Raticate born strong.

Mother was Rattata. Mother was weak. Father was Growlithe. Father was strong, stronger than mother. Father gave Raticate move, strong move, move Rattata don't naturally learn. BITE. Father made teeth stronger, sharper than average Rattata. BITE can tear. BITE can snap. BITE strong, very strong. Raticate use BITE. Very strong.

BITE way out of egg. Teeth hurt. Must BITE. Must BITE. Chew. Snap. Tear. BITE. BITE!

TAYLOR took baby Raticate to Elite Four. Wanted to BITE them. But baby was weak. Egg was weak.

TAYLOR gave Raticate thing. EXP Share. Bit it.

TAYLOR sent out big bug. Ledian. Ledian high level, but very weak. Did not move when fighting. Was weak.

Ledian defeated Elite Four. Gave Raticate experience. Made Raticate strong. First five levels. Then four. More four. More. More. More. Grew fast, grew strong. BITE stronger. Must fight. Must fight.

TAYLOR keep defeating Elite Four. Raticate keep growing. Levels up. Lots of levels.

Finally evolved. Grow big. Big body. Bigger teeth. Strength much higher. Wanted to fight. Wanted to fight. Ledian keep fighting. Keep EXP Share. Learn many moves. Learn Hyper Fang. Like Bite, but stronger, more critical. Teeth grow longer, harder. Snap. Snap.

Then Ledian disappear. Weak should disappear.

TAYLOR train Raticate now on boat. First battle. Persian. Old man. Persian scratch first. Hit hard. Half HP gone. Now my turn. Hyper Fang. Persian almost faint. One more Bite. Chomp. Faint. Experience. Not like EXP Share. Tastier. Sweeter. Strength go higher. Want more. Want lots more.

Fight other trainers on boat. Bite. Win. Win. Win. Bite Remoraid. Bite Machoke. Bite Hypnos. Bite Ninetails. TAYLOR give lots of berries after battles. No lose.

Keep win. Keep win. Must always win. Win for experience. Win for strength. Like strength. Taste good. Feel good. Bite for strength!

TAYLOR not return to Elite Four. Said was not strong enough. Was wrong. Was strong now. Ready for Elite Four. Will Bite Xatu. Will Bite Dragonite. But TAYLOR no take back to Elite Four. Keep on boat. Keep training. Keep winning. Keep getting stronger.

Still not strong enough. Fight many times on boat.

Finally, TAYLOR take to Elite Four. Fought Xatu. Bite. Xatu take big hit. Dark move on Psychic. But no faint. Psychic. Hurt. Almost die. But Xatu slow. Bite back quick. Xatu faint. TAYLOR give Lemonade. Keep giving Lemonade. Bite Jynx. Bite Exeggutor.

Bite Slowbro, but Slowbro not faint. Amnesia, so Bite not hurt. Keep biting. Slowbro keep using Amnesia. Bite stop hurting. Slowbro Psychic.

What? What this? What happening? Can't see. Can't move. Falling. Closing. Can't…snap…sleepy. Faint? Fainting? Slowbro make Raticate faint? No. Can't lose. Can't lose experience. Can't stay up.

Sleep. Turn passes.

What? Can see. Can move. Revive from TAYLOR. Shuckle fainted while Raticate reviving. Ready to fight again. Ready to fight Slowbro.

TAYLOR tell Raticate to not Bite this time. Special Defense too high. Hyper Fang instead. Slowbro no use Curse. Defense weak. Hyper Fang twice. Slowbro faint. Experience. Lots. Level goes up. Keep beating Elite Four. Up and up and up and up and up and up and up. Beat Lance. Beat Dragonites. No faint again. TAYLOR keep using hyper potions.

Want to fight Elite Four again. Want to beat Slowbro. Bite Slowbro in half. Snap to pieces. Crunch. Munch. Faint.

TAYLOR take to Elite Four again. Stronger now. Chew through Xatu, Jynx and Exeggutor.

Slowbro again. TAYLOR tell Raticate not to use Bite. Use Hyper Fang instead. Attack stronger than Special Attack. Want to Bite Slowbro, but TAYLOR say no. Use Hyper Fang. Slowbro faint. Experience. Win. Win. Win. No faint. Win.

Keep fighting. Keep beating Elite Four. Level 60. Level 70. Level 80. Higher and higher. Stronger and stronger. Take down Elite Four in one snap, no need Hyper Potions anymore.

Need to keep fighting. Need to keep getting stronger. Feel it. Stats shooting up. Need to keep stats up. Need to keep fighting.

Then new egg came.

TAYLOR breed pokémon. Breed Raticate. Now breed another pokémon. Bring new egg everywhere. Bring egg to Elite Four. Bring Egg to Mt. Silver. Egg start moving. Start making sounds. Egg hatch into Slowpoke.

Weak baby. Can't move fast. Slow. Dumb. Can't attack. TAYLOR want to raise anyway. No see why. A waste. A mistake. Could snap in one bite, like Elite Four. Useless.

TAYLOR take baby to Elite Four. Give Slowpoke EXP Share. Like Raticate. Train Slowpoke like Raticate, though Slowpoke slow, weak and useless. Slowpoke nothing like Raticate. Fight anyway. Snap down Xatu with Hyper Fang. Experience flow. Wait. Where's rest? Why only part of experience gained?

Slowpoke get stronger. TAYLOR check stats. Slowpoke get bigger, jump levels, on Raticate's experience. Mine. Mine. Fought and won by Raticate. Slowpoke useless. Should not get my experience. Why? Give it back. Give it back. Get weaker so Raticate can get stronger!

TAYLOR say no. Say that Slowpoke will be trained, and will get half experience earned by Raticate. Say to keep battling. Levels will go up, but now slower. Hate it. Hate Slowpoke. Slow, useless, weak. Want all experience. Hog. But TAYLOR say. So keep battling. Slowpoke keep jumping levels. Raticate levels crawl.

Need Elite Four and Red to go up one level now. Slowpoke go up one level every three battles. Not fair. Slowpoke should be earning own experience. Not stealing. Strong not made from stealing.

Level 90 now. Bite down Dragonite. Dragonite faint. Lance faint. Slowpoke go up more levels.

TAYLOR visit pokémon center. Go to second floor. Pick up Mystery Gift. Talk to lady. Give Slowpoke special stone. Raticate never need stone. Raticate never got stone. TAYLOR go inside special room. Talk to person at computer. Swap pokéballs.

TAYLOR leave room. Let Slowpoke out. Slowpoke now Slowking. Taller, with big white stone on head. Look even dumber, weaker. Could snap easier than Slowpoke.

TAYLOR say that Slowking now strong enough to fight Will. Strong enough to fight Xatu. Not possible. Slowking never fought battle before, never make faints.

Xatu is Raticate's faint, not Slowking's. But TAYLOR send Slowking out instead of Raticate. Take long time, and many Super Potions, but Slowking win. Slowking win against Jynx. Slowking gain lots of experience, Raticate's experience. Slowking fight Exeggutor and faint. TAYLOR send in Raticate to finish Will. Raticate win easy. Slowking fight in no more battles, and not get EXP Share. Raticate get lots of experience, all experience. Slowking worthless.

Keep fighting Elite Four. Raticate always fight Karen and Lance. Slowking fight only Will. Then Slowking fight Koga and Bruno. Raticate no fight Koga, Bruno or Will anymore. Slowking no faint anymore. Win all experience from Koga, Bruno and Will. But Raticate have Karen. Raticate have Lance and Red. Still, Lance, Red and Karen take long time to level up Raticate. Take long time for Raticate to go up levels now. Slowking growing faster, but much weaker.

Almost level 99 now. Slowking almost level 60 now. Slowking fighting all of Elite Four but Lance. Lance and Red faint by Raticate. Need to bite. Need to bite more. Need more battles. Need more experience. Want level higher. Want to go up to 100 and higher. But TAYLOR no fight with Raticate. Always Slowking now. Slowking take all of Elite Four. Teeth itch. Need to Bite. Need to Hyper Fang. Fight. Fight. Fight!

Now level 99. Almost level 100. More battles against Red! More! More! Snap. Twist. Chomp. Chew. Faint Pikachu. Faint Espeon. Faint Venusaur, Blastoise and Charizard. All faint by Raticate's teeth. Experience go up. Level go up.

Yes! Level 100. High! Higher! Strong! Must keep getting stronger! Must keep battling! But, why feel strange? Why strength not hungry for more experience? Why teeth not itchy anymore? What wrong?

TAYLOR stay at Indigo Plateau. Say that now Slowking will take all battles. Raticate will have no more battles. Raticate at level 100. Will not go any higher. Say Raticate will wait in PC until time for stadium.

No. No. No. No. NO! Raticate must keep fighting. Must keep getting stronger. Level not matter. Raticate can still get stronger. Raticate just need more battles. Slowking not needed, Raticate stronger! Need more time. Need more attention. TAYLOR! TAYLOR! Train Raticate more!

Night. Party go to sleep. Slowking take everything. Slowking weak, not like Slowbro, Raticate stronger now and will faint Slowbro and Slowking. Raticate better than Slowking. Will chomp Slowking, then TAYLOR will train Raticate again. Raticate will have all that Slowking stole. Will be best. Will keep on fighting. Will get Slowking's battles, will get all of Raticate's battles.

Slowking wake up. "Yes…what…is…it…that…you…want?"

"Take everything! Take all! Now Raticate will take all! Raticate will stay with TAYLOR, will stay battler!"

Slowking not move. Raticate attack!

What? What this? Can't move. Can't move. Psychic! Mind trick! Dirty trick! Should fight with hands, claws, teeth and feet, not with tricks!

"You…are…done. TAYLOR…is…training…someone…else. You…will…not…get…any…stronger."

Lies! Fight. Struggle! Raticate can get stronger. Raticate will get stronger once Slowking gone.

Psychic hurt! Hurt much. Raticate not die. Raticate trained more. Super Fang! Slowpoke now half weak. Half to faint. Raticate try to attack again. Will Bite, just like Slowbro. Bite do little damage. Why? Slowbro use Curse, and Hyper Fang no make faint. Try to Bite, but Slowking use Psychic, which hurt and block. Can't reach Slowking. Psychic keep throwing Raticate back.

What? What's going on now? Slowking in Raticate's head. Breaking mind. Ow, it hurts! Stop! Brain cracking. Teeth can't stop shaking. Out! Out! Stop the tricks. Fight real! Can't stay awake. Slowking breaking mind. Can't…attack. Bite. Bite. B…it…e.

Wake up in pokéball. No! TAYLOR! Wait! Raticate can get stronger! Raticate much stronger than Slowking! Let Raticate fight again! Raticate good at fighting! Raticate defeat Elite Four and Red without using Lemonades! Raticate strong! No! Do not forget about Raticate! Let Raticate fight again! More chances! More experience! Raticate just need more experience! Raticate will break level 100 with enough experience! TAYLOR! No! Wait!

FIN

* * *

The last pokémon I raised before my gold version erased was a Slowking, who was preceded by a Raticate. I raised my pokémon in the order that I happen to find them in my boxes, and I thought it was very ironic how the two got arranged to be raised together. I grew attached to my Raticate, since I thought it was so adorable, and was saddened when it reached level 100 and I put it away for a Slowking, which is never really the same thing as a strong Raticate.

When writing this story, I wondered how would a hyperactive, battle-crazy Raticate speak. Answer: not in complete sentences, and mostly in third person. Pronouns? Couldn't imagine it. Hence, the style that the chapter is written in. I hope it didn't get on anyone's nerves, but this is how I honestly think mice, if they could talk, would speak. With a metabolism that fast you know they're not going to waste their speech on little things like articles, subject-verb agreement and pronouns.

Oh, and the name of the chapter is from what I actually nicknamed by Raticate. I never mentioned the Raticate's nickname simply because I thought it would destroy the reader's image of him. His name was Squeakers. Yeah, he was a psychotic little thing.


End file.
